Promoter Mick Hennessy is hoping to nail down 10,000 tickets sales this week for what Hughie Fury’s handler has labelled, ‘the biggest heavyweight fight out there’ against Joseph Parker.

Fury bids to dethrone Parker of his WBO title at the 20,000 capactity Manchester Arena this Saturday night, but Hennessy has admitted the contest was never going to be a sell out.

“There’s lots of fake news out there about tickets and stuff and everything that goes around it. We’re not expecting to sell stadium out. Of course we’re not,” he explained. “These are two young fighters making their name for the heavyweight world title.

“We laid it out for 10,000, we’ve done 5,000 and we’re looking to try to get to as close to 10,000 as possible.”

On booking the arena in the first place with no real expectation to fill it, Hennessy added: “That’s not the point. These two young fighters will build their name in this fight and then everyone worldwide will know who they are.

“We’ve got a brilliant world heavyweight fight, it’s a 50-50 fight for anyone’s money. Two young guns in their prime, modern day heavyweights, both big fighters and both putting undefeated records on the line.

“Is it the biggest fight out there commercially in the heavyweight division? No, we all know that. This is two young fighters trying to make their names and their legacies and they are about to do that.

“Is it the best heavyweight fight out there? Absolutely … 100 per cent this is the best heavyweight fight out there. This is a fight where you don’t know the result of this going into this fight.”

Parker’s promoter David Higgins made a late entrance at Monday’s press conference to confront Peter Fury over the appointment of a neutral referee, a move which has since fallen on deaf ears despite a subsequent threat to pull his man out of the contest.